George Leslie Clarke Rees (28 December 1905 – 17 August 2000) was an Australian writer for children who was born and raised in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia.Austlit - Leslie Rees
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Career

He attended

Perth Modern School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , location = Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , coordinates = , mapframe-stroke-colour = #C60C30 , mapframe-marker-co ...

and then the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

, where he edited the student magazine, ''Black Swan''. He then worked for

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

as a journalist before travelling to London to study at University College on a scholarship. It was while there that he married fellow Western Australian,

Coralie Clarke Coralie Clarke, later Coralie Clarke Rees BA (23 October 1908 – 14 February 1972) was a Western Australian author. Biography Coralie Clarke Rees was born in Perth, eldest daughter of Guildford "Gil" Clarke (1883–1949) and his wife Sylvia ...

, who had been a sub-editor during his time on the ''Black Swan''. Rees returned to Australia in 1936 to become the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

's first federal drama editor in Sydney. He was also President of PEN (Sydney) for a number of years. As a writer, Rees is best known as a prolific author of children's books as well as written travel books, plays and an autobiography. He wrote the first Australian-written drama to air on Australian television, ''

The Sub-Editor's Room ''The Sub-Editor's Room'' is a 1956 Australian television play. It was produced and written by Leslie Rees. It was the first Australian-written television drama to air on Australian television. The word "slut" was spoken in dialogue several time ...

''. He died in Sydney on 17 August 2000.

Selected works

Novel

* ''Danger Patrol'' (1954)

Children's fiction

* ''Digit Dick on the Barrier Reef'' (1942) * ''The Story of Shy the Platypus'' (1944) * ''Gecko : The Lizard Who Lost His Tail'' (1944) * ''

The Story of Karrawingi the Emu ''The Story of Karrawingi the Emu'' (1946) is an illustrated children's book by Australian author Leslie Rees and illustrator Walter Cunningham. It won the Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers in 1946. Story outline The book tell ...

'' (1946) * ''Digit Dick and the Tasmanian Devil'' (1946) * ''The Story of Sarli the Barrier Reef Turtle'' (1947) * ''The Story of Shadow the Rock Wallaby'' (''c.''1947) * ''The Story of Kurri Kurri the Kookaburra'' (1948) * ''Bluecap and Bimbi : The Blue Wrens'' (1948) * ''Mates of the Kurlalong'' (1948) * ''Quokka Island'' (1951) * ''The Story of Aroora the Red Kangaroo'' (1952) * ''Digit Dick in the Black Swan Land'' (1952) * ''Two Thumbs : The Story of a Koala'' (1953) * ''The Story of Koonawarra the Black Swan'' (1957) * ''Digit Dick and the Lost Opals'' (1957) * ''The Story of Wy-lah the Cockatoo'' (1959) * ''The Story of Russ the Australian Tree Kangaroo'' (1964) * ''Boy Lost of Tropic Coast : Adventure Dexter Hardy'' (1968) * ''The Big Book of Digit Dick'' (1973) * ''Mokee, the White Possum'' (1973) * ''Panic in Cattle Country'' (1974) * The Story of Shy the Platypus (1977) * ''Here's to Shane'' (1977) * ''Digit Dick and the Magic Jabiru'' (1981) * ''Digit Dick and the Zoo Plot'' (1982) * ''The Seagull Who Liked Cricket'' (1997)

Drama

* ''The Sub-Editor's Room'' (1937) – and 1956 television adaptation of the same name * ''The Man With the Money : A Drama'' (1948) * ''The Harp in the South'' (1949) – based on the

Ruth Park Rosina Ruth Lucia Park AM (24 August 191714 December 2010) was a New Zealand–born Australian author. Her best known works are the novels ''The Harp in the South'' (1948) and ''Playing Beatie Bow'' (1980), and the children's radio serial ''Th ...

novel of the same title * ''Modern Short Plays'' (1951) edited * ''Mask and Microphone : Plays'' (1963) edited

Travel

* ''Spinifex Walkabout : Hitch-hiking in Remote North Australia'' (1953) * ''Westward from Cocos : Indian Ocean Travels'' (1956) * ''Coasts of Cape York : travels around Australia's pearl-tipped peninsula'' (1960)

Autobiography

* ''Hold Fast to Dreams : Fifty Years in Theatre, Radio, Television and Books'' (1982)

Awards

* 1946 winner Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers — ''The Story of Karrawingi the Emu'' *1981 appointed

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) for service to literature

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Leslie Australian children's writers 1905 births 2000 deaths Members of the Order of Australia